Insanity

By whom originally, it is not known, but insanity was once defined as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

At first, one might observe such a behavior and quickly assume the person is insane. We should not forget, however, that so many challenges have been overcome by sheer persistence.

One of the most reliable precursors to success is persistence. One of the four chief virtues is fortitude, which is a close relative of persistence. I cannot begin to tell you how many examples are out there of some person or obstacle relenting because some, tireless individual would not give up.

Nevertheless, there are cases in which a person blindly expects a different result from repeating the same approach that has yielded no results so many times in a row.

It is a delicate process, but one can distinguish insanity from persistence.

Now, it is in these cases that a great opportunity arises. There are plenty of insane people, and yet there are secondary insane people who try to dissuade the primary insane from their fruitless antics. The secondaries follow the same process, though, offering repetitive, fruitless solutions to the manic primaries.

The opportunity is this: You can change insane people's behaviors.

The trick, however, is being a different, more devoted kind of insane. Mindless, endless repetition is insane but requires no commitment. The changing kind of insane requires an individual to try something entirely new and commit to the path no matter the backlash.

One of the most sustaining factors about repetitive insanity is how familiar, how comfortable it is. When the repetitively insane meet a change in their routine, they lash out, fighting to bring back the fruitless familiarity.

Those persons who are committed to making real change must anticipate and endure this backlash.

It's hard to articulate because it has so many unpredictable layers.

I'll have to reflect how to articulate it better, but this is the summary: You typically won't cause change in your own life or the lives of those around you by repeating whatever you've been doing forever.

To cause change, you have to upheave your own comfort and make bold, decisive, new choices.